A Mother’s Heart

Mothers are unique;

Mothers are different; A mother’s heart beats to a different drum

Have you seen an expectant mother cradle her baby bump? That’s a mother’s heart beating protectively.

And with mother’s day celebrated recently in a host of countries around the world, I got thinking about the various ways a mother’s heart beats.

A mother’s heart beats protectively

Have you ever turned instinctively when you hear a child call mummy, even though your children are miles away?

A mother’s heart beats to a different drum….. A mother’s job is never done

I came across a story recently on social media; a young bride, who couldn’t cook (that’s a crime in Africa, in case you didn’t know!), her mother-in-law found out when her son kept dropping by at her house to eat after work and his friend let the cat out of the bag. This wise mother taught her daughter-in-law to cook under the guise that she “needed” her assistance to cook for some guests she was entertaining. Once they were done she sent the young wife home with enough food to last them several weeks. This process was repeated until the young wife could confidently cook different meals without supervision; not once did her mother-in-law berate her, rather like a mother hen she protected her daughter-in-law’s self-esteem and her son’s marriage.  

A mother’s heart beats with longing

I was privileged to attend secondary school in the days when school mothers actually took responsibility for school daughters; a young woman, just two to three years older, is given the task of helping a 10 or 11 year old child, who has never been away from home settle into boarding school. My school mother is two years and a few months older than I am, and it took us a while to find our rhythm, but once we did, we did get on well. Then she left, and we lost touch, remember, there were no mobile phones, no internet in those days.

Fast forward almost forty years later, we finally re-connect; you know what this lovely lady says to me over the phone; “I’ve been wondering about you, it’s so good to connect with you and to see how well you’re doing, we should meet up in person to catch up”. No matter the distance in time and space a mother’s heart longs for her child.

A mother’s heart beats believing

This is for the mother whose heart beats for her child yet unborn, for the mother whose child has left the fold, for the mother who prays for her child day and night.

The mother with teenage children you don’t recognise, that make you feel as if you have failed as a mother, because they’ve fallen in with the wrong crowd; yet you believe that they will retrace their steps because you trained them to follow they right path Proverbs 22:6. Every mother believes the best of their children

A mother’s heart beats scared  

I see the mother waiting up, until she hears the key turn in the lock; I can almost hear the sigh of relief, “thank God he got home safely”

I came across a video of the Baltimore riots in 2015 recently; there were lots of young people throwing rocks at the police, in protest of the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Then out of the blues comes, this mum, in her jeans and yellow top, she takes in the mayhem and then spies her son.  The mother, Toya Graham, rushes at her son Michael, pulls him out of the crowd of protesters, and slaps him all the way home!  When asked why she pulled him away, she responded, I don’t want him to be another Freddie Gray, if he wants to go to the funeral to pay his respects that would be okay; but taking part in the riots, that’s unacceptable. No mother wants her child to end up as a statistic, so she applies tough love.

We all know the saying; a mother’s job is never done

So for every mother out there whose heart beats for her child;

For every mother-to-be whose arms long to cradle her own baby;

And for every mother whose child has left the fold

I celebrate you

And to my mum, thank you for believing, for protecting, and for all the tough love. Happy Mother’s Day once again

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See you soon

Abimbola